Why Kris Allen Needs To Be In LA Right Now
A brief, focused LJ post that is mainly so I can link to something rather than just spam twitter:
I've spent a LOT of time over the past couple of months talking about how I hoped Kris would get back to LA to work on his new album. This isn't because I don't believe Kris is a talented songwriter and musician of his own merit -- because I do -- but rather because the best musicians know that collaboration is part of the musical process, especially in this day and age. Kris has said multiple times over the past year that he's been writing constantly. What he's likely done is come to LA with a portfolio of what he believes is his best work from the past year -- and an open mind.
There are different forms that co-writing can take. Kris might take a song that he has largely written himself, and use the co-writing experience the way a writer interacts with an editor -- an objective opinion that will push Kris to tighten the song melodically/lyrically/musically, or add a hook to the music, suggest an alternate arrangement, etc. It's very hard for artists to take a look at a "fresh" song they've just written (which almost always feels like either the best thing you've ever written, or the worst) and make these kinds of changes themselves. Yes, even for someone like Kris who is gifted in his ability to put a "fresh spin" on someone else's song.
Another approach, which Kris has talked about when discussing the writing of some songs on his first album, is to take a truly collaborative approach from the inception of the song. To go in with only a vague theme, or a chord progression, or a snippet of a melodic line, and work together to build it into a song. For Kris to have the opportunity to do this with some of the amazing musicians we've already heard about, is something that will only make him grow as a musician. It's such an amazing experience to work together with a group of people to create something from the ground up.
Another approach is basically the reverse of the first thing I mentioned -- for someone to come to Kris with a song, and ask him if he'd like to put his spin on it. I hope that Kris is involved with writing every song on his next album, but something to keep in mind is that even if he doesn't have a writing credit on it, Kris would still have chosen that song for a reason, and made it his own. Again, this is something that is a compliment to Kris if a musician approaches him with a song -- the perspective that this is a "sloppy second" reject from the artist's personal project is incorrect.
All of this doesn't even begin to touch on the production side of making an album. The majority of good producers, especially in the pop industry, are based in LA. Again, Kris has a great ear for arrangements, but that doesn't mean he has the experience or technical ability to completely produce his own album. By working with people who specialize in this area, it will only increase the final quality of his album.
A huge part of how these sorts of opportunities come about is through networking, which is much easier to do in LA than most places... and almost impossible in Arkansas. Kris usually makes a good impression on people who work with him, or hear him perform, but LA has a short memory, and if you don't keep reminding people that you're around, making music, they WILL forget about you. Kris doesn't really care about the fame or the money (bless him), but the majority of people in this industry DO. If Kris wants to work with the best, he has to be able to convince them that he's someone worth investing their time (and in many cases, money) into.
This is already longer than I intended it to be, but that, in a nutshell, is why I am glad to see Kris in LA, hard at work on his album. He's not selling out, or turning his back on what got him to this stage, or abandonning his principles or cutting himself short -- he's trying to make the best damn album that he can.
I don't know about you, but that's all that I want for him.
I've spent a LOT of time over the past couple of months talking about how I hoped Kris would get back to LA to work on his new album. This isn't because I don't believe Kris is a talented songwriter and musician of his own merit -- because I do -- but rather because the best musicians know that collaboration is part of the musical process, especially in this day and age. Kris has said multiple times over the past year that he's been writing constantly. What he's likely done is come to LA with a portfolio of what he believes is his best work from the past year -- and an open mind.
There are different forms that co-writing can take. Kris might take a song that he has largely written himself, and use the co-writing experience the way a writer interacts with an editor -- an objective opinion that will push Kris to tighten the song melodically/lyrically/musically, or add a hook to the music, suggest an alternate arrangement, etc. It's very hard for artists to take a look at a "fresh" song they've just written (which almost always feels like either the best thing you've ever written, or the worst) and make these kinds of changes themselves. Yes, even for someone like Kris who is gifted in his ability to put a "fresh spin" on someone else's song.
Another approach, which Kris has talked about when discussing the writing of some songs on his first album, is to take a truly collaborative approach from the inception of the song. To go in with only a vague theme, or a chord progression, or a snippet of a melodic line, and work together to build it into a song. For Kris to have the opportunity to do this with some of the amazing musicians we've already heard about, is something that will only make him grow as a musician. It's such an amazing experience to work together with a group of people to create something from the ground up.
Another approach is basically the reverse of the first thing I mentioned -- for someone to come to Kris with a song, and ask him if he'd like to put his spin on it. I hope that Kris is involved with writing every song on his next album, but something to keep in mind is that even if he doesn't have a writing credit on it, Kris would still have chosen that song for a reason, and made it his own. Again, this is something that is a compliment to Kris if a musician approaches him with a song -- the perspective that this is a "sloppy second" reject from the artist's personal project is incorrect.
All of this doesn't even begin to touch on the production side of making an album. The majority of good producers, especially in the pop industry, are based in LA. Again, Kris has a great ear for arrangements, but that doesn't mean he has the experience or technical ability to completely produce his own album. By working with people who specialize in this area, it will only increase the final quality of his album.
A huge part of how these sorts of opportunities come about is through networking, which is much easier to do in LA than most places... and almost impossible in Arkansas. Kris usually makes a good impression on people who work with him, or hear him perform, but LA has a short memory, and if you don't keep reminding people that you're around, making music, they WILL forget about you. Kris doesn't really care about the fame or the money (bless him), but the majority of people in this industry DO. If Kris wants to work with the best, he has to be able to convince them that he's someone worth investing their time (and in many cases, money) into.
This is already longer than I intended it to be, but that, in a nutshell, is why I am glad to see Kris in LA, hard at work on his album. He's not selling out, or turning his back on what got him to this stage, or abandonning his principles or cutting himself short -- he's trying to make the best damn album that he can.
I don't know about you, but that's all that I want for him.